• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 21, Number 15

  April 15, 2019 Doug Bidwell

  And the PTFs just keep on rolling. . . . This week, there are patches in the HTTP Server Group for IBM i 7.2 and IBM i 7.3. There is also a new Database Group for IBM i 7.2.

  And, as is common with most production operating systems these days, especially those that have a lot of components derived from open source software where things get discovered and patched out in the open where everyone can see and with a rapidity that operating systems of days gone by did not have to deal with, there is a continual stream of …

  Read more

• Syncsort Debuts Unified IBM i Security Suite

  April 10, 2019 Alex Woodie

  Syncsort rolled out a suite of software this week that unifies several of the IBM i security products it has acquired over past two years. Dubbed Assure Security, the suite is designed to help IBM i shops lock down servers and protect them from threats while getting a handle on emerging data regulations, like the looming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

  The acquisition of Vision Solutions by Syncsort back in June 2017 closely coincided with the two companies’ joint pivot into data security. Vision, of course, was best known as a provider of IBM i high availability solutions when it …

  Read more

• GoAnywhere Tops in MFT, Research Group Says

  April 10, 2019 Alex Woodie

  We haven’t heard a whole lot about the GoAnywhere managed file transfer (MFT) solution since HelpSystems acquired Linoma Software back in 2016. But the product is coming to life in a big way this year, thanks to a major refresh of the IBM i-supported product, as well as a top score in a reputable research group’s ranking of MFT products.

  Info-Tech Research Group last week published a report ranking nine MFT products from some of the biggest names in file transfer and IT, including IBM, Ipswitch, Oracle, Adobe, and Citrix, among others. While GoAnywhere didn’t …

  Read more

• Raz-Lee Reels In The File Editors

  April 10, 2019 Alex Woodie

  File editors can be great time-savers in certain situations. Who wouldn’t want developers to be able to quickly get into a database file, fix some errors, and then jump back out? Clearly, the answer is the security department. But thanks to a new solution from Raz-Lee Security called iSecurity Safe Update, file editors can be used without giving the security officer nightmares.

  File editors are among the most popular products on the IBM i platform, thanks to their capability to developers and administrators to make changes to data quickly and easily, without requiring programming. The IBM i operating system comes …

  Read more

• Four Hundred Monitor, April 10

  April 10, 2019 Jenny Thomas

  “You see golf. We see data.” I probably won’t be watching, but golf fans know the Masters kicks off this week in Georgia, and tech fans will be interested in seeing how IBM’s Watson keeps the tournament running smoothly. Of course, I wish I could tell you the IBM i was prominently featured, but it is always good to see IBM getting in front of 13 million television viewers, if the 2019 Masters lives up to last year’s numbers. You can see IBM’s slick website for the Masters at the first link below, and continue on from there for the …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 21, Number 14

  April 10, 2019 Doug Bidwell

  We have some new items to report with this week’s PTF Guide. There are new HIPER and Security groups for all three supported releases. And there is a new MQ group for 7.3 and 7.2. Plus, there are new links for the System Passport Advantage and Passport Advantage Express. That’s a lot of new for you to chew on.

  Sadly, there is nothing new to report for tips this week. That would have been too much to hope for, anyway. There are also no new defectives to review this week.

  Here is the last defective PTF rundown for each release: …

  Read more

• Yes, IBM i Shops Have AI Options, Too

  April 8, 2019 Alex Woodie

  Companies of all shapes and sizes are encouraged to adopt artificial intelligence these days. Most of today’s AI tech, however, was developed to run in open systems and X86 environments. But there are a growing number of AI options from IBM and its partners for customers that want to keep their data resident on the Power Systems platform.

  There’s no denying there’s a lot of hype around AI today. One can scarcely turn on the TV or open a magazine or Web page without being inundated with claims of how leading organizations are using AI to gain a competitive edge, …

  Read more

• RTPA Looking For A Few Good Software Reviewers

  April 8, 2019 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Throughout the six decades of commercial computing, one thing has been universally true. Every good application development or system management tool, from the simplest debuggers all the way up to complex DevOps systems that can absorb multiple continuous streams of new code being mashed up against old code without making a mess of things, got its start because some programmer or administrator was so annoyed at how something worked – or more precisely didn’t work – that he or she created a new tool that did the job a whole lot better.

  This is precisely the beginning story of Real-Time …

  Read more

• Guru: Dealing With RPG Errors and Embedded SQL

  April 8, 2019 Ted Holt

  Hey, Ted! I’m having trouble using some of the new techniques I learned at the RPG and DB2 Summit. Below is a screen shot of a program I am writing. I cannot figure out why the compiler doesn’t like it. Can you see anything that would be causing the declarations to fail?

  — Mike

  I glanced over Mike’s code and noticed that he used a correlation name in the SELECT and WHERE clauses, but did not define that correlation name for any of the tables, like this:

  SELECT x.onefield, x.twofield, x.redfield, x.bluefield
  FROM MYTABLE
  WHERE x.onefield = :TestValue;
  

  He …

  Read more

• As I See It: Why The Long Face?

  April 8, 2019 Victor Rozek

  For an increasing number of Americans, the elusive search for happiness starts and ends each day with screen time. Smartphones, symbolic of a larger attachment to, and dependence on technology, have become the fifth appendage, glued to their owners like fake fingernails. They amplify and simplify, offering seemingly endless relationships without the need for relating, and limitless connection without the bother of bonding.

  To keep the voracious social media beast fed, most of us have become both content providers and consumers. Everyone, it seems, is flogging their own reality show. Each day we post our next episode and anxiously await …

  Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles